There were 2,393 sales in May, up slightly from April's 2,318 but down one percent from May's 2,418 sales. Year to date, sales are up 5.1 percent.

Prices edged up, with the $193,000 median for May reflecting a 10.3 percent increase from a year ago. Year to date, median sales price is up 8.6 percent.

Although sellers added 3,315 new properties, overall inventory declined to 9.271. This equates to 3.9 months on hand, well below the five- to six-months that is considered a balanced market. Sellers have the upper hand and buyers are finding far less from which to choose.

Days on market until sale is now at an average of 76, down 11.6 percent from last year's 86 days on market.

Lender mediated properties play a sharply reduced role in the housing market these days. While 17 percent of the May sales were lender mediated properties, only 8.7 percent of the homes that remained in inventory are lender mediated.

2016 NEFAR President Terrell Newberry said, “Competition for homes has been a key factor for much of 2016 and is expected to continue unless a large influx of sellers enter the market. Multiple offers on a property are commonplace. This competition resulted in 12.4 percent of Northeast Florida homes sold in May going for more than their original listing price."

For these and numerous other real estate market statistics, take advantage of the FREE market reports available on the Market Stats tab of NEFAR.com. Three reports are available: 1) The Monthly Indicators and Housing Supply Overview Report summarizes complete activity for NEFAR's entire service area plus *partial information for St. Johns County and Nassau County. 2) Lender Mediated sales reports offer a targeted look specifically at lender mediated sales and how they compare to traditional sales. 3) Annual Reports - 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 are available - give an extensive year in review, with comparisons from the four preceding years included.

*As all Nassau and St. Johns County Realtors are not participants of the NEFMLS; reports provided do not represent the full extent of Realtor sales in those counties.

About NEFAR The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors provides professional development, political advocacy, professional standards administration, media relations, and promotional activities and exchange of information among its members. NEFAR serves as the voice for real estate in northeast Florida; serving the public through efforts to protect private property rights and community affairs programs. NEFAR is Northeast Florida's largest professional association, comprising more than 6,500 members working in all facets of the real estate industry, including residential and commercial sales as well as property management. All statistics in NEFAR's reports are based on data compiled from NEFAR's wholly owned subsidiary, the Northeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (NEFMLS). NEFAR is headquartered in Jacksonville, with satellite Service Centers in Orange Park, Jacksonville Beach, Palatka and World Golf Village.